You glance out the window only to see water spots, unsightly streaks, dirt, grime and stains with unknown causes. But wouldn’t you rather see a sparkling clean window looking out towards your beautiful garden or yard? By using these easy steps, you can keep your windows and doors sparkling clean.
Clean Your Windows and Doors on a Day that is Cloudy
Nature can work against you when cleaning your windows. If you clean your glass windows on a warm, sunny day, the cleaning solution will evaporate too soon. It can leave behind some residue before you even get the chance to wipe it away. Instead, you should wait for a day when the sun is hidden behind clouds.
Vacuum up Your Resident Spiders
You don’t want to deal with squishing spiders while you are wiping your windows clean. Instead, be proactive and remove the spiders and spider webs by vacuuming them beforehand. Or you could opt to use a dirty rag to wipe away the cobwebs.
Dilute Cleaners Using Distilled Water
If you are using a glass cleaner that needs to be diluted, use distilled water. Hard water contains minerals, so it will leave mineral deposits on your glass. These deposits cause streaks, which you could have otherwise avoided.
Use Vinegar
Maybe you are out of glass cleaner or you wanted to use a more natural option, vinegar works very well on windows. You can try out a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water to achieve a streak-free finish. You can use a spray bottle or just dip a rag into the solution like you would any other cleaner. If you’re worried about the fumes or smell, you can just use vinegar for outdoor windows or mix in a few drops of essential oils to counter the smell.
Use Less Soap
If you have very dirty windows and you must use some soap to cut through the dirt, keep in mind that a little goes a long way. If you end up using too much soap, then you could create a thick mixture that leaves a residue on the glass. Make sure you take only a small amount of liquid cleaner and dilute it with water to eliminate dirty build-up.
Use a Strip Applicator
You can also use what the professionals use and use a woolly strip applicator to put your cleaning agent on your windows. You can create a nice lather to clean off water spots, dirt, grime and other messes on your windows. Remember to scrub when trying to remove stubborn spots and stains.
Get Rid of the Paper Towels
Paper towels could be a convenient cloth to use on your windows but they tend to leave lint streaks across the windows and doors. If you want truly sparkling windows, go for a microfibre cloth, chamois or even newspaper to dry off your windows. Be careful when using newspaper as it could leave stains on hands and clothing.